The Supreme Court of the Maldives has ordered the Criminal Court of the Maldives to halt that trial following the two charges against Former President Abdulla Yameen in the Fuhgiri trial.
In December 2022, the Criminal Court sentenced former President Yameen to 11 years in prison after finding him and others guilty of money laundering and accepting bribes in relation to the lease of Aarah, Vaavu Atoll, for resort development through the Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC), and deposited USD1 million to his account at HSBC, and a total of USD1.3 million at Bank of Maldives (BML) and the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) in February 2017. He then took the amount and further funds from his investment account at MIB for investments in March 2021.
The hearing in the Fuhgiri trial was scheduled to take place on May 8 in the Criminal Court. However, the Supreme Court ordered the case to be adjourned after Yameen appealed against some of the decisions taken on the previous motions of the trial.
The Criminal Court has rejected some of the prosecution's evidence in the Fuhgiri case after Yameen requested to disclose some of the prosecution's evidence in a pre-trial motion. However, the judge hearing the case in the Criminal Court did not decide as requested by the former president. The High Court also upheld the Criminal Court's decision. He, therefore, appealed the case to the Supreme Court and asked the Supreme Court not to accept the testimonies of former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and former MMPRC Managing Director Abdullah Ziyath.
The Supreme Court bench hearing the case decided to adjourn the Criminal Court hearings until the case is resolved. The Chief Justice of the bench hearing the case said he would inform the Criminal Court of the Supreme Court's decision. The Supreme Court bench of Justices Husnu Al Suood, Aisha Shujune Muhammad, and Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim is hearing the case.